Hearts On Fire
by nickie.nikolova
Summary: Gabriel and Riley are sent out on a mission to New York, where they have to take down a Russian terrorist with the help of somebody form Gabriel's past. A past he doesn't really want to talk about, especially with his partner.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Intelligence fan fic and I really hope you like how it starts out. I watched the entire first season in couple of days and was so sad to find out that the show might not be renewed. Let's hope for the opposite. I would love to read all of your opinions.**

**I do not own Intelligence.**

**The title is inspired by Passenger's new song - Heart's on Fire**

* * *

Gabriel Vaughn stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the room that housed Cybercom's internal pool. The agency had one of the biggest pool he had ever seen and he still couldn't wrap his mind around why a bunch of hackers would need an Olympic-sized pool at their disposal. And the worst thing? He and only a couple of other field agents actually used the facility. Which is why he was so startled when he heard the sound of splashes echoing in the big room. During his daily swim, he was usually all alone. Gabriel Vaughn really didn't like changes, even if it was something as small as another person swimming lengths at the same time as him. He entered the room slowly and squatted to see who was swimming. In his corridor.

It was a dark-haired woman, her long legs working hard to help her swim as fast as she could. Her arms were the source of all that splashing noise as she was rowing to the opposite end of the pool. Every three rows her head would pop above water for just a second to breathe in a lungful of air and then she would look down towards the bottom. She was a good swimmer, the agent concluded, swimming by the book, as if she had done that her entire life. There were no rash movements, her speed was completely constant and Gabriel didn't even notice walking besides the swimming figure, eager to know which the girl that could probably outswim him was. Not that he would let her, whoever she is, beat him even in an imaginary, probably-never-going-to-happen situation. Although he had to admit that the way her body flowed in the water, her rhythmic movements were very graceful.

'Holy crap!' Gabriel swore, when the water surface was ruptured and the dark-haired woman emerged form underwater. It was none other than his partner – Special Agent Riley Neal.

'What the…' Riley was smoothing out her wet hair away from her face when she noticed Gabriel's standing figure. 'Have you decided to give me a heart attack for my birthday this year?'

She was breathing heavily, part because of exhaustion, part because she didn't expect Gabriel here. She lifted her body on the ladder and quickly got out of the pool, hugging herself with a warm towel.

'Never saw you as a swimming type of girl' her partner said with a smirk across his face.

'You haven't seen nothing yet' she teased as she removed the towel from her body and started drying her hair. 'What are you gaping at?'

That was when Gabriel actually realized he was staring. Oh, but he was just so distracted by how the little water droplets clung to her smooth skin and how the afternoon light that was coming through the window was making her long legs shimmer like they were covered in tiny little diamonds. She was wearing a dark one-piece swimming suit with the agency's logo embroidered right where heart would be. Wet as it was, it stuck to all the right places, outlining the curve of her bust and her toned flat stomach. Not that he was looking there anyways. He cleared his throat, once he had been caught and moved his gaze up to her face, but not before he took in the image of her. Interestingly, he didn't feel guilty – Riley Neal was a beautiful woman and Gabriel Vaughn was an appreciator of these women.

'Okay, how is it that I come here every day for a swim and I never see you here?' he asked, moving just a step closer to his partner.

'I don't usually swim.' Riley stated matter-of-factly and then turned to face her partner. 'I usually jog. Every morning. Usually.'

Gabriel grinned as he realized where she was going. This morning he had broken into her loft so early the sun still hadn't shown up on the skyline and woke her up with his best, and by best, please understand his most terrible, off-key interpretation of ABBA's Mamma Mia. The only thing Riley did was to throw at him the pillow she was resting her head on, which was quite disappointing to Gabriel, as he had expected some great Big Bang type of outburst out of her. She mumbled something not so politely and turned on her other side, completely ignoring him. He wanted to avenge all his early mornings when he had to wake up early because his protector was a morning person and was feeling the most productive in the early hours.

Riley's reaction didn't stop him from what he had in mind. He had a whole repertoire prepared and was going to serenade to his friend until she was out of things to throw at him. After three more verses from different ABBA songs next to Vaughn's feet were lying a couple more pillows and even Riley's blanked. She then gave in to his torture and got up, making him coffee and skipping her daily jog because she couldn't just leave Gabriel alone at her place. When she was asked why, she answered that he was afraid he might go through her underwear drawer, given his flirtatious and slightly disgusting nature. So she had to just sit herself down on the couch next to him,both their legs stretched out on top of the coffee table, watching the morning news until they were called out to duty.

'I could've forgave you about your very rude behavior today, Riley, but you swam in my corridor.' All Gabriel Vaughn got from his snarky remark was her cold stare and a punch to his chest. It was Riley's turn to laugh as she watched how her partner landed on the still water surface and cursed loudly, a stupid clueless expression replacing his previous smug grin. Luckily he was close to the pool ladder and his embarrassment lasted a bit shorter than the dark-haired girl had intended. As he got out of the pool, clothes soaking wet, he just looked at Riley with his lips pursed into a tight line and removed his wet shirt, throwing it somewhere behind him. As he was taking off the heavy with water piece of clothing, he caught the gaze of his partner, sliding her gaze up and down his muscular upper body. That made him wink at her. When he finished unclothing he was left with nothing on but a pair of swimming trunks.

'Tell you what, Riley.' He started climbing down carefully the ladder and into the water as he kept his eyes on her face. 'Whoever reaches the other end of the pool wins.'

He knew very good that Riley Neal was a competitive soul, maybe even more than him and that she would never walk out on a challenge. Especially if he was on the other end of it. She raised one perfectly eyebrow and made a step towards the edge of the pool, bending above Gabriel.

'Not a chance.' She said, but that was her mistake. Gabriel jumped up and clutched her thin waist, collapsing her next to him.

'You don't have a choice partner.'

'Okay, okay, I'll bite. What's the prize?' Gabriel turned to her, surprised that she actually agreed.

'The loser pays for the take-out tonight. Winner chooses what we watch.' Riley and Gabriel hung out every other evening, drinking beer and watching stupid TV shows, which caused them to argue and shout at each other because, on purpose or completely accidentally, they always seemed to like completely different characters. The only time they didn't bicker about something stupid was when they would watch some documentary on Animal Planet. Then instead of bickering, Riley would be flinching at the sight of a captured rabbit, while Gabriel would laugh at her for being a former Secret Service agent and still flinching and turning away when the leopard reached the gazelle.

'Deal.' They shook their wet hands, counted to three and threw themselves in the chilly pool water. Gabriel of course had the advantage because of his bigger size, his enormous palms and longer and stronger legs. He had swum lengths after lengths and he was already tasting the victory. He slowed his pace just a little bit, having caught sight of Riley's body moving in the water just behind him. But that was his mistake.

Riley had dived a bit deeper and Gabriel was surprised to her small frame actually be at least two feet underneath his. She then swiftly shifted her body to the right and turned her face to him, sending him a mocking underwater air kiss, if such a thing even existed. His dark-haired partner disappeared in front of him in a cloud of thousands of small bubbles left as she rowed before him.

He soon reached the tiled wall, but was a moment too late as Riley was already waiting for him on the finish line. Her face was red, her chest was going up and down as she was catching her breath. She splashed some water at his face and chuckled.

'I guess we're watching CSI tonight then.' She knew he hated the show, because it was a bit too unreal to him. Talk about irony, she had responded to him, reminding him he had a chip, embedded in his brain, giving him the ability to do close to unimaginable things.

'No, anything else but that,' he grunted, but the bet was a bet and she had won fair and square. In response to her earlier splash, he cupped his palms and threw the water in them directly in her face. She shrieked surprised but was fast to return the attack. Soon they were wrestling, pushing each other underwater and laughing their butts off. That was until a suited man came in the room and looked them with slight annoyance.

'Lillian's been searching for you two.' His eyes widened a bit when the Suit noticed how Gabriel's hand were on Riley's waist, pulling her closer to him. Everybody knew they were playful like that – harmlessly bickering and flirting with one another, but some agent wondered if they would ever sleep together. There was even an ongoing bet, initiated by Nelson Cassidy, but Riley and Gabriel were oblivious to it. 'Please keep it civil,' the agent complained and left, stopping at the door and informing them once again that Lillian was growing impatient.

Gabriel sighed, slightly disappointed that they had to stop with whatever they were doing.

'I promise you, next time I'll go easy on you' Riley chuckled as she made her way to the showers in the girl's dressing room.

* * *

Lillian Strand was standing on the little platform in the main room, tapping her undoubtedly expensive heel with impatience as Gabriel walked into the room. She shot him a dirty look and he instinctively looked at his wristwatch. He was half an hour late and she was apparently in a bad mood. He searched the small crowd, trying to find his partner, but apparently she still hadn't arrived.

Just as he was thinking of her, the heavy glass door opened and Riley flew in, cheeks red – she obviously had ran from the pool to the control room so as to not Strand's anger upon her. She smiled a half smile and made a couple of larger steps, taking her place right next to Gabriel. Lillian looked down on them as a mother who was about to scold her kids for breaking her favourite vase. It was weird how Gabriel had always accepted his boss a motherly figure, even though she was merely a decade older than him.

The ginger-haired woman in front of him pressed a button a small remote control and on the large screen behind her appeared the mug shot of a man with a strong square jaw and cold brown eyes. Gabriel's chip started working the moment he laid an eye on the photo and after digging just a little bit, he found everything he could on him – form his name and age to how much gas he last purchased from a gas station nearby.

'You're looking at Anatoly Ivanich'.

Gabriel already knew that.

'He's been involved in at least a dozen of terrorist attacks over the years in the former Soviet republics – a blown up train in Bulgaria, an explosion with at least twenty casualties in Romania. Ever since he landed on American soil two weeks ago we've tracking him and we have sources telling us that he will try and sell the blueprints of dangerous military technology to whoever pays the most.'

The team looked at each other in confusion and they all asked silently the same exact question. The bravest one of all to ask in was Riley.

'And all due respect, but what does it have to do with us?' Lillian pursed her lips, as if the answer wasn't totally obvious.

'The CIA has requested that you and Gabriel be part of it. This means that Cybercom will be involved in it. They want Clockwork to identify his buyers and apprehend them. And without making too much of a noise. You'll be in contact with an undercover agent. From what I've heard she's really good; she'll contact you first. You leave for New York tonight, so I suggest you spend the rest of the day packing for at least a week.'

Riley scoffed and crossed her arms in front of her body. She wasn't happy with the fact that she would be spending her next night in a plane, when just this morning her sleep was rudely interrupted by her protectee. Gabriel smiled guiltily.

'Excuse me, Lillian. What's the name of the agent, who'll be assisting us on this case?' asked Gabriel, a little ball of nerves settling in his throat as he connected the dots. Russians, New York, a she, indercover. That could only be one agent and the chip-implanted man prayed he wasn't right with his assumptions.

'Her undercover alias is Alyona Andreevna.' Gabriel knuckles became white as he gathered his hands into fists, the chip already given him the real name of the agent. 'Her real name, however, is Nora Skyler'

He gulped and noticed with the corner of his eye as Riley's eyes slightly widened in worry as she saw his frustrated face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all of the positive feedback I got from all of you! Thank you for the reviews and the views, the follows and favorites. These mean so much to me! ^^ I hope you enjoy the new update :)**

* * *

_two years ago_

It had only been a year since the chip was implanted with the chip and everybody started to call him with that irksome codename 'Clockwork'. His mind still couldn't keep up with the overflow of information that kept popping up whenever he would set his foot on the street. He was utterly sick with all that irrelevant data streaming in and out of his head, knowing everything about almost everyone. Gabriel didn't want to know that the waitress in his favorite café was sending naked pictures to someone who was not her husband or that his neighbor was hiding half of his incomes to avoid higher taxes. He also had no intention or desire to know the Facebook password of his previous date or the fact that she was going out with two other guys at the same time, but the chip didn't ask.

_The chip didn't care. The chip delivered. _

America's favorite superweapon was not used to apprehend dangerous criminals and put a stop to their wrongdoings; it was used to uncover the secret affairs of some random soccer mom. He was tired of the constant pictures and videos. He tried shutting it down, he tried to turn it on only when he was working, but for this past year it had no effect. But, willingly or not, the chip was part of him and the thought that Gabriel had access to everything out there fueled his curiosity to no end. He was sick of it, but completely lost without it.

The only thing stopping him from pulling the damn chip out of his skull single handedly was the petite blond girl walking beside him. Nora Skyler was one of the best things that had happened to him in such a long time. Five years, three months and two weeks to be exact. She was the first woman, he had ever trusted, ever loved since Amelia. Nora was the first girl whose touch was different, whose kisses didn't bring back terrible nostalgic moments. She had found him in a dark place and had completely changed his way of thinking. Nora was such a positive thinker, finding good even in the worst of situations. And he was glad she was beside him, feeding him with happiness and love.

Yes, he loved her. He loved her very much. And the little blue box in his pocket, containing a golden ring with a small diamond on top of it could prove it.

Nora Skyler was his handler, a CIA agent, assigned to protect him from day one, ever since the chip was placed inside his skull, back when the two agencies – Cybercom and CIA – were still on good terms. She was the only one to actually acknowledge the fact that he was still just a human being, and not 'Clockwork'. He carried technology, worth billions of dollars, in his head, and everybody seemed to forget he was still him and not a vessel for their priceless piece of metal. She was the one that saw the person and not the chip and they quickly fell heads over heels in love with each other.

Their employers considered the idea of Nora and Gabriel as a couple very dangerous, as it affected 'Clockwork' directly, putting both Gabriel and the blonde in danger. He could never figure out why being in a relationship would be threatening to them. It actually made more sense to both of them, because then they would have even more to lose and would be even more cautious and careful. He guessed that neither Lillian nor Tetazoo were thinking like that.

He was ready to spend the rest of his days with her, not giving a damn about what all the Government Issued Suits had to tell them. And he believed that she was also ready, giving him all sorts of little signs and hints. He hadn't forgotten Amelia, but one morning when had woken up next to the silent and calm naked body of Nora, he decided that Amelia was a lost cause. If she had loved him enough she wouldn't have gone to blow up hotels hallway around the world. She would have been lying in his bed.

He knew a lost cause when he saw one.

Coming home from work, a plastic bag in his hands, containing take-out from her favorite French restaurant, he found her with a weird expression on her face, talking on her phone in Russian. He didn't even bother to translate that to himself, because he knew she didn't like it when he was messing with her missions. Just as she wasn't messing with his.

'Hey, Nora' he called, kissing her softly on her head. He didn't say anything else, just vanished in the kitchen, setting up the table. Candles out, all the nice cutlery, the china he kept for special occasions.

'Come here. I have a surprise for you.' Her face lit up and that gorgeous smile he had fallen in love with a year ago showed up on her little heart-shaped face. Her cheeks flushed a faint red as she saw the label on the small bag.

'La Petite Paris? You shouldn't have, Gabe.' Gabriel lit the candles and helped her take her seat on the small round kitchen table.

They ate and they talked, they laughed, they held hands. At the end of their little at-home date night Gabriel suddenly stood up and got close to Nora. He caught her hand in between his and brought her knuckles up to his lips. Then he lowered his strong frame until finally one of his knees touched the kitchen floor.

Then he asked her a certain four-letter question that either makes or breaks a relationship.

'Nora, will you marry me?'

In their case that certain four-letter question broke them.

A shadow covered her face as light blue eye widened, lids fluttered and blood drained from cheeks. It was as if he hadn't asked her to marry him. She shifted in her seat as her shoulders fell down as if she suddenly had the task to carry the weight of the entire world. Gabriel looked up to her to find her eyes closed as she breathed in deeply, her whole body shifting into a defensive position. Once her blue eyes opened he saw no love. Apathy, that's what he saw.

'No.'

Gabriel's head felt as if it was going to explode. How could she say no?! How could she ruin that perfect evening he had planned out. He started shaking, his chip working extra hard, as if Vaughn could find the reason behind her refusal in the bulk of digital footsteps Nora had left. He found none and that's what made his head pound with ache. He jumped and nervously crossed his fingers behind his neck, immediately missing her touch. She had stood up and followed him cautiously, looking down on the ground, not wanting him to see the guilt behind her blue irises.

'Why, Nora, why?' His voice went from a deep quiet whisper to a frustrated growl. He felt her hands on his back, lightly, frightfully caressing him, begging him silently to calm down. But he couldn't.

'Tetazoo's pulling me.'

'Pulling you from what?'

'You,' she lowered her face again, not brave enough to face Gabriel. 'Us.'

Gabriel grabbed her by the arms, pressing her tightly against his body, whispering in her ear.

'Let's just run. Please. Let's run. We can go to Mexico, we can go to Brazil, we can go to anywhere you want. I'll take care of everything.' But neither she nor her body reacted in the way that he wanted.

They couldn't be together after this. They just couldn't forget this night as if it had never happened. This was the end and they both knew it. It came crashing down upon them surprisingly, at least to Gabriel, leaving him completely speechless, empty and broken. All they both waited for now was for one of them to be braver and walk out of the door, not looking back even once.

'I can't,' she stuttered. 'Tetazoo will give me my own team, Gabriel. I'll be able to lead my own ops, I'll be working with the Russians. This is a big chance for me, Gabe. You have to understand.'

He didn't.

* * *

_present day_

His head had started pounding again, happening for the first time in a really long time. All those hurtful memories he had buried years ago had come rushing into his mind the moment he put two and two together. It was Nora, who had first made him give up the hopeless search for Amelia, but it was her who threw him in it again – head first. Lillian had to know better, he thought. But then again, she knew that they had separated on good terms, ending it as good friends.

The ride home was silent. His hands were clutching the steering wheel and his knuckles had become painfully white. He was desperately trying to ignore Riley and her questions. Ever since Lillian had brought up Nora's name, his protector quickly noticed his reaction and hadn't stopped asking questions ever since.

'It's gonna be a really long ride,' he murmured, stepping on the gas. The car revved underneath them and that was the cherry on top for Riley.

'I heard that, Gabriel.' The tone of her voice suggested that she was both annoyed to no ends and at the same time she was concerned about her partner, trying to calm him down without even knowing the reason behind his frustration. 'That's it.'

Riley reached to her left and despite threatening their lives, grabbed the wheel and spun it in her direction, pulling them in the service lane of the highway. He could give her prop for persistence. The car stopped, as if it were conspiring with Riley. 'Could you please tell me what's bothering you? Do you really hate New York that much?'

'Yeah, that's it.'

'Gabriel, you do know that I care about you. I am for partner, for Christ's sake!' She huffed and punched the glove box so hard, the skin on her knuckles ruptured and small wounds appeared instead. Riley cursed under her breath and covered the bloody spots with her other hand.

He hated seeing her hurt. Ever since she got shot on their first day together as partners, he had made sure that she was safe and sound beside him. Gabriel knew that she was completely capable of handling anything and anyone by herself, but that didn't stop him from being overprotective over his partner. Whether it was a man with the wrong intentions towards Riley or a gun pointed to her face, he had made a promise to himself to never let her get hurt.

'Let me take a look.' He reached in her direction, grabbing her hurt hand, but she yanked it off of his clutch and mumbled a 'Just drive' while shifting her body to be as farther away from him as the passenger seat allowed.

The rest of the trip back to their apartments was completely silent.

* * *

It was a good thing that Gabriel had a key to Riley's place. Its initial purpose was for Gabriel to use it in case his loft was compromised, but eventually, as they got closer as friends, he started using it all the time for various reasons, some of them far more ridiculous than others. The first couple of times Riley had found her partner lounging on her couch, beer in one hand, the remote in the other, she had thought that maybe he was compromised. She started pulling guns and weapons from all corners of her apartment, handing some to Gabriel, and keeping some to her own. Only his incredibly loud laughter snapped her out of her 'protective mode' as she realized Gabriel had just snuck in there to watch a movie on HBO.

Now he unlocked the door to her loft slowly and quietly and popped his head first, checking to see if it was clear. He heard her voice coming from her bedroom, a Blondie record playing in the background as Riley sang with it slightly off-key. He snuck in and very carefully closed and locked the door again, trying not to make a sound. He wanted to apologize for earlier and maybe he would even tell her about Nora. He dreaded the thought of going on a week-long mission with an angry Riley. When they were having an argument, they tended to be sloppier and they didn't do their job as good as usually. He went to the refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of Amstel Light, before placing them carefully on her coffee table, coasters underneath them, because he knew how much Riley had paid for the wooden table. He knew small details about her, he caught himself thinking, and he was actually proud of the fact that he had learned all of them not from chipping her, but by actually listening to what she was saying and paying attention to what she was doing. He, for example, knew that she loved listening to pop songs whenever she was feeling down or that whenever she was really happy, she would drink an Iced Green Tea instead of her usual double shot espresso. He also knew how to make it up to her in case she was angry at him, which happened more often than not – he'd bring some beer, take out and a Chaning Tatum DVD. He never liked his movies, but had to go through watching them to make peace with his partner. He could not understand why she would want to watch his movies. If she needed to stare at some hunk's abs, he was there at her disposal, of course. He had actually suggested that on many accounts, but all he got was a dirty look. And not _that _kind of dirty. Gabriel smiled as he acknowledged those facts and seated himself on the couch, waiting for Riley to actually realize that he was on her couch.

That didn't take long at all, because as soon as the song that was playing in the background stopped, Riley walked out of her door and stood directly in front of Gabriel, hands on her hips, her posture giving away the fact that she was mad at him. Her plump pink lips were pursed in a tight line and her eyes were shifting form the left to the right, trying not to gaze at Gabriel for a long time. Her chest was rising and falling slowly, rhythmically, giving away the deep breaths she was taking.

'How many times have I told you not to break into my apartment?' Gabriel opened his mouth to state the fact that he had a key and that automatically ruled out breaking and entering. She just lifted a finger in front of him, forcing him to shut up. That's when he saw the bandage around her hand and wrist, covering her bloody knuckles.

He stood up and went round the table, stopping just in front of her. He took her palm in between his and looked at her wounds. They were nothing serious, but he loathed the fact that he was the reason behind them. Riley gulped and pulled her hand away from his.

'What do you want? I'm not finished packing yet.'

'I wanted to apologize, so I brought some beers.'

Riley chuckled. Gabriel felt as a smile grew large on his face, caused by her laughter. It was a sarcastic kind of laugh, but it was definitely not an angry kind of laugh. 'Gabriel, that's my beer, from my fridge. But I appreciate the effort.' She hit him lightly on the shoulder with the hand that wasn't in bandages.

They sat in silence, sipping from time to time of the beer bottles. There was no Chaning Tatum movie, which he was so glad about, but they were watching some stupid game show. Riley would shout at the contestants whenever they made a dumb mistake and then Gabriel would be laughing at her for being so invested in it. After the game ended Gabriel turned off the TV and faced Riley, who seemed to have forgotten their previous conversation in the car.

'What?'

'I came to apologize.'

'Gabriel,' she sighed. She knew better than to pry and ask around. 'If you don't want to talk about it, fine. You have nothing to apologize for.' He shot her a look full of guilt and grabbed her wrist, the one with the bruised knuckles and held it in his hand. Even without the chip he could feel that the skin there was warmer than the rest of her body. It was in no case a serious wound, but rather an annoying one and the agent knew that Riley hated those small cuts and bruises that didn't hurt, but rather limited her movements. 'In fact, I guess, I have to apologize for my tantrum fit. You're not obligated to tell me everything that's going in that head of yours.' She then gently removed her hand from in between his and for a second he caught himself longing for the contact of her skin with his.

'Riley, I want to tell you.' She gestured to him to go on. 'Nora Skyler was my fiancée. Or, would have been.'

Riley's eyes widened. She didn't know that, it wasn't on any kind of record and it was her job to know everything there is to know if her client is long term. Secret Service protocol. She had to know if some crazy Russian mafia ex was going to come in and kill him like an animal in a slaughter house. And when she had explained that to Gabriel in the beginning of their partnership he had laughed for nearly thirty minutes before telling her she had nothing to worry about. 'Why isn't she on your file?

'She's an undercover operative and Tetazoo thought it better to not include us in any official reports, because she's one of CIA's best. She's the first one to be assigned to protect me. Aside from you she's the only one that endured to this,' he stopped and gestured to his frame, 'pressure.'

A sad smile appeared on Riley's face and his heart flinched.

'You know how to pick 'em, huh?' Both Amelia and whoever this Nora was, were CIA undercover agents. He had a type then, he thought, but glancing back to her, that theory of his seemed kind of shattered to pieces.

'Something like that. Nora was the person that helped me overcome my obsession with Amelia's disappearance. After she left, I practically relapsed until…' Then he smiled at her.

'Why did you split up?' It was weird to Gabriel to discuss his love life with her. They were partners for almost a year now and that topic of conversations was a taboo, which they tried to ignore anytime one raised the question to the other. He was uncomfortable and actually quite irked at any guy, who had gotten Riley's attention. He wasn't jealous, no; he was taking care of his partner.

'I popped the question.' Riley's eyes widened just a little bit more, her green irises glowing as they reflected the subtle afternoon light, sifting through the window. Even though she knew he had been married before, he guessed she still had a hard time wrapping her mind around the idea of him falling to his knee and handing out a velvet box with a diamond ring in it.

'I assume she said no?'

Gabriel gulped as memories flushed back inside his head. The image of the darkened face of his then girlfriend made his shoulders fall down with hurt as if it had been yesterday. How was it that he such bad luck with women that loved him far less than he did?

'She didn't just say no. She actually told me that they were transferring her to a different unit. Tetazoo had given her the option - either be stuck with me for all eternity with me or be the leader of a team, hunting down Russian criminals on US soil. I think it's apparent what her choice awas.'

Gabriel felt her small hand on his bicep and the touch of her skin with his left a tingling sensation. He turned to face her, not realizing when he had lowered his head, elbows rested on his knees. He glanced at her features, soft light highlighting them – the bridge of her nose, her prominent cheek bones, and her small chin. He had to admit, she looked gorgeous like that, her hair pulled up away from her face in a messy flimsy bun, her face completely make up free.

'I never should have pushed you into telling me earlier. I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now.' It was hard to explain. Gabriel had no longing romantic feelings for Nora. He didn't hate her but truthfully, he seldom even thought about her but when he did, her pretty strawberry blond curls and her heart-shaped face brought him nothing but despair and the bitter-sweet taste of what once was and what could have been.

'Oh, Gabriel' she mumbled, even whispered his name. Riley stood up and bit her bottom lip, a worry settling in those pretty green eyes of hers. 'That's why you didn't want me at first! That's why you didn't want a protector. Because you always imagined them leaving at the end.'

Gabriel was impressed by how easily she could see through him, how transparent his feelings were to her, how well the dark-haired agent in front of him actually knew him. This realization made his heart skip a beat and the warm tingly feeling of satisfaction filled his entire body.

But she did get one thing wrong. He was not afraid she was going to leave for a better job offer. Riley had already been offered many enticing jobs and titles, yet she stuck with him because she cared about him and he cared about her. Gabriel was more afraid that someone would end up hurt, and not by a bullet or a blade, but by a feeling that he had once found out was dangerous in their line of work – love and affection.

'I guess so.' Gabriel looked at the clock on the wall behind Riley and realized that they had spent nearly an hour and a half, watching stupid shows, not talking to each other, then talking to each other. The agent wiped the palms of his hands on the sides of his thighs and was surprised to find out they were sweaty.

Riley was back to packing and even asked for his opinion on which formal dress to carry with her in case they had to go somewhere more formal. Gabriel laughed as a ticklish boy being tickled when his partner showed him the two dresses, asking for fashion advice. He was sure she looked gorgeous in both of them, but of course he didn't let her know.

'They're both okay, Riley.' He winked at her as he imagined her wearing either of them. 'The red one would hide the thigh strip for you gun a little better, I imagine.'

After a scoff on her side, she stuffed them both in her suitcase, along with what seemed half her wardrobe. Half an hour later they were loading all their stuff in the trunk of Gabriel's car and heading to the airport.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter at least as much as I did writing it. I want to know what do you guys think Nora will be like when she meets with Gabriel again. Did you like the development of the story? I would love to read all of your reviews and opinions. Thank you again for taking your time to read :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so this is a bit of a fluff chapter, but I just love how it turned out, especially the end. I would love to know what you think of the last part of this chapter. I am sorry if it feels a bit slow-paced at first, but I felt like I needed to explore Gabriel's feelings just a bit more. I hope you like this one and I look forward to reading your reviews :)**

* * *

Something about this whole mission felt weird. They didn't know almost anything – they were certain that after Russian mob Anatoly Ivanich had his mug shot taken, he immediately had his entire face reconstructed and remodeled by a team of plastic surgeons, so nobody at Cybercom really knew how he looked like. The one that did know was Gabriel's ex – Nora – who had been undercover with the Russians for almost a year and a half. Cybercom was also unaware if Ivanich had any friends in high places, so they didn't risk flying Gabriel and Riley with their own jet to New York. The two agents had to take a commercial jet and now America's favorite super weapon was flying in Economy class.

He didn't want to admit it but Gabriel had gotten used to certain luxuries that came with the job of being the most expensive person in the country – they usually had their own private jet, slept at the better hotels and shot with the better guns. Now his weapon was tucked away in his luggage, along with his pajamas, a couple of pairs of jeans, some shirts and the only suit he owned. He was hesitant to even bring it, but of course, Riley told him to put in some formal wear just in case. He at least hoped the New York Cybercom office would provide them with something bigger and better in case they had to shoot at somebody. Hoped.

Vaughn was so used to the private plane that he had forgotten how the normal people, who don't have multibillion dollar inventions stuck inside their brains, got from point A to point B. He didn't like that he was becoming something like a spoiled bratty kid, but maybe this wasn't his fault – Lillian was the one always spoiling him. Right behind him there was a kid that was a constant pain in his ass, singing Christmas carols at two in the morning while Gabriel was trying to sleep, even though it was April. The annoying child also viewed the back of seat for a punching bag and made sure his little kicks and punches bruised his back. He had turned several times to ask the parent of the karate-kid if she could possibly make the boy stop, but she was passed out on the seat right behind Riley's, breathing quietly and steadily while her kid was driving the agent completely insane. He would growl and murmur, even scold the kid, but nothing helped.

The only thing that kept Gabriel from going completely bonkers was Riley's warm body, sleeping on the seat next to his. In her sleep she had twisted her head in his direction and rested it on his shoulder, incredibly close to the nape of his neck. Her rhythmic breath was tickling his collarbone and unexplained shivers took over his entire body, running up and down his spine. Gabriel instinctively encircled her shoulders with his hand, providing her sleeping body with the warmth of his, pressing her just a bit more into himself. When she moved in her sleep and her lips brushed against the skin on his neck he realized how close Riley's head was. How close her lips were. Another shiver ran along his body, reaching each cell with electricity, as fast as a lightning bolt, and goose bumps covered his skin. Her body smelled like a flower garden - his nose could pick up the fragrance of peonies and lilac, flowers, he had learned were her favorite. He wondered for the briefest of moments what her mouth would taste and a sudden crave for her lips pressed into his crawled inside his mind and body.

He really couldn't afford to think like this, though – it was neither good for them nor for their job. His relationship with Nora gave him a glimpse of what could happen if feelings got mixed up in the game. There was always a person who would care a tad more about the job than the other. And judging by Riley, she wouldn't even dare step into that kind of uncharted territory. She was a strict professional that was usually limiting the physical contact with Gabriel to the absolute minimum. It was as if she had forbidden herself into showing whatever emotion when on clock, because she would look weak, vulnerable. She had explained to him during the early stages of their partnership that she would be a successful protector and bodyguard only if she didn't show too many emotions and vulnerabilities. She couldn't allow herself to express whatever weakness, because it would undermine her authority - that was the way she had put it. And she had much or less stuck to her code – whenever they were out on field duty, she was a bit more passive, emotionless compared to when they were sitting on his couch, sipping beer and just talking about the most random things in the world. Then she was the most passionate women he had ever met - opinionated, smart, witty, incredibly fun, confident with herself.

Now that she was sleeping, now that she didn't have the mask of professionalism on her face, he could see that her features were a lot more softer, a lot less tense – her jaw wasn't clenched, her eyes, despite being close, were more relaxed, her shoulders and her chest rhythmically falling and rising in sync with her breathing. He was amazed by how calm she looked, not a trace of all the worry that was usually written on her face. He would never tell her that, but in that moment Gabriel was surprised how almost normal she looked. Seeing her like that, nobody would ever imagine she could endure the immense pain of being stabbed multiple times to protect the vice president's kids; no one could tell she had been shot at multiple times, that she had gone to hell and back, no one could guess she was a martial artist that was able to bring you to your knees within seconds just with her one hand. She looked kind of innocent, a flush on her cheeks contrasting with her pale skin and a mysterious satisfied half-smile on her lips. He though she looked absolutely beautiful like that.

Ten minutes later he too fell asleep, head rested on Riley's, right arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him. She was his protector, and Gabriel had never felt safer.

* * *

The sound of the head flight attendant announcing that in ten minutes they would be landing in New York woke them both up. Riley shifted in her seat, her lips accidentally coming into close contact with Gabriel's neck again. Goosebumps shook his body once more as he growled sleepily and eased the grip on her shoulders. When Riley finally removed her head from the crook of his neck he immediately started missing the warmth of her cheek against his skin and the slight tickle of her breath sliding on his flesh. She cleared her throat, the situation a bit too awkward for her to handle as her blood flushed up to her face. A coy smile played on her lips, responding to the satisfied smirk on Gabriel's face. His hand was still wrapped around her shoulders and when he realized that, he snapped it momentarily in its rightful place.

'Good morning!' A certain huskiness in the voice of the dark-haired woman made his blood boil and his mind was quick to react. Gabriel imagined waking every single day to those full lips and that sexy voice, her messy locks, her flushed cheeks and her jade green eyes. One thought led to another and Gabriel bit his lip in silence as his mind played scenarios in his mind, his chip rendered the image of Riley waking up next to him, wearing nothing but traces of his own cologne that lingered on her flesh. If the contact of just her lips with his neck made him shiver, he could only imagine what actual skin-to-skin contact would actually feel like.

'It is most definitely going to be good, judging by how it started.' Gabriel teased and watched with a confident smile how Riley turned to the window, her sides blushed the most gorgeous shade of pink. She turned to face him, lips already parted, ready for a retort when the flight attendant asked everyone over the com to fasten their seatbelts. Both agents did as instructed and clicked the plastic locks of the seatbelts over their stomachs. The plane hit the ground then, tires screeching and after a minute or two of slowing down the runway, the plane came to a halt. Everybody started standing up, stiff arms stretching up in the air. The chatter between passengers and flight attendants wishing everyone a pleasant stay in the Big Apple was a bit too much for the agents, their bodies craving caffeine and not polite send-offs.

Once they were at the gate they headed off to claim their belongings. Luckily their stuff weren't lost in the chaos and the agents quickly made their way out to the terminal. They stopped at the Starbucks café that was just outside their gate to get some much-needed coffee.

As they dragged their bags on the way out, Gabriel suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't need to run checks on the camera with his chip to find the familiar face, staring right in his direction. He gulped and that drew Riley's attention.

'Gabriel, what is it?' Her hand reached his forearm in a comforting motion. When she waited for the answer that never came she just slowly turned her head in the direction of his gaze and a small frown stretched on her lips. Gabriel noticed her grimace only when he turned to his partner who was standing frozen beside him. He noticed how her lips had fallen into a sad smile. A lump heavy as lead appeared in his throat and made breathing by itself an incredibly difficult task, let alone walking or moving. He couldn't move an inch, so he just stared at the woman he hadn't seen in such a long time.

'Wow.' She whispered, probably just to herself, unaware that he had heard it too. Her tone was either filled with appreciation and admiration or with heavy sarcasm.

It ached him that he couldn't take his eyes off her. Her strawberry blond hair was neatly braided in a long braid that looked far too complicated than it probably was. Her skin had a soft glow as if she had just returned from a vacation on the Maldives. Her lips, slightly open, were covered in a shade of fire truck red, her big greyish blue eyes outlined with a black liner. A short dress revealed legs continuing on forever. She rose taller than he remembered her, but then he noticed her high heels. If one didn't look too closely at her features she could easily pass as a Russian citizen. Of course Gabriel knew, Nora's mother was from Moscow which explained her Eastern European looks.

'Well, now I feel completely ugly.' Riley chuckled nervously, pulling him out of his trans-like state. He turned to her only to notice that despite the laugh, only nervousness had reached her eyes. It wasn't like her to question her appearance – she was well aware that she was a beautiful woman, he knew that. Gabriel also knew that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, competing only with a few more, one of which was Nora. 'Let's go then.'

When they came closer to Nora, a man suddenly appeared by her side. Tall, lean, muscular, dressed in a crisp black suit as if he was supposed to be going to a black tie event but had mistakenly ended up at the airport. Underneath his black jacket, an unbuttoned white shirt let them have a sneak peek at the tattoos that had marked his chest forever. His face was just as rough and exuding power – his jaw was strong, his cheekbones high, stubble carefully shaped to suit his face covering his cheeks and chin. Upon seeing them he raised his head confidently and wrapped an arm around Nora, or Alyona.

She smiled at him just before her gaze moved to the person behind Gabriel. He could see the gears spinning inside her mind. He didn't have even the faintest idea of what their cover would be. As she saw agent Riley Neal her smile died a bit, but the welcoming expecting façade was still intact.

'Riley!' Nora squealed as she wrapped her arms around Gabriel's partner's neck, catching them both completely surprised. Riley was a bit startled at first but quickly responded to the hug, working out the intentions of the blonde.

'Gabriel!' She hugged him them, leaning in just a bit more, red lips coming a bit too close to his earlobe, as she whispered, 'I'll explain later.'

Nora found her place next to the mysterious man again. Gabriel's chip started working, going through thousands of passports, photos and all sorts of documentation, trying to get an identity, put a name to his face. He couldn't. If he had two guess, he was standing in front of Anatoly Ivanich himself.

'Sweetheart, this is my cousin Riley and her…' her eyes squinted a bit as Nora tried to come to terms with what she was apparently about to say. She was talking to her whatever he was in Russian, not a trace of an accent, as if that's the language she had spoken all her life. '… And her boyfriend Gabriel. Riley's mom and mine are sisters; and my aunt married an American when she arrived in the USA.'

His chip was working into translating whatever Nora was saying, her knowing well enough that he could do that, but Gabriel was a bit worried if Riley would understand the blonde undercover.

'Anatoly,' he introduced himself and shaking both their hands with a cold smile on his face. 'Did you have a safe flight?'

'Da. Spasibo,' Riley answered, catching Gabriel completely off guard. He never knew his partner spoke Russian.

Vaughn had only noticed how the gaze of the Russian had lingered on his partner's lean figure, when he wrapped an arm around her. He didn't like the stares she had received from the mobster and the act of pulling her closer to him claimed her as his in front of the criminal. That didn't go unnoticed by Riley.

The four of them chatted a bit about their flight, Anatoly's voice weighed with a Russian accent.

'Do you have reservations at a hotel, Gabriel?' the man inquired as Gabriel nodded and his chip immediately pulled information about their reservations at the hotel that was strategically chosen near Anatoly's current residence.

'Yes, thank you. At the Hilton.'

'Fancy. I would like to invite you to dinner tomorrow night at my place. Alyona will give you the time and place. Right, Alyona?' She only nodded, and looked at Gabriel, a silent agreement that she'd send him all the necessary info on his chip.

With that the two pairs each went their way.

* * *

Two hours later, after a long and a rather irritating visit of the completely unorganized and messy office of the New York office of Cyber Command, Riley and Gabriel checked into the New York Hilton, dragging their bags in the gigantic hallway of the famous hotel.

'Riley Neal, room for two?' They didn't have any time to make small chat with the receptionists. They had a lot on their minds, having to set up everything, talk over their covers. Nora had put them in a bit of a tough situation, and both were surprised to hear how the blonde had introduced them to the Russian. Gabriel had suggested that only half-jokingly when they were on the plane, but they had decided to leave it for a different time. None of them expected to be meeting Nora and her undercover beau at the airport and she had caught them completely off guard. It was weird calling her honey in front of his ex and he didn't know why. He didn't like how the blonde was discretely staring at the close proximity between the two partners or her dissatisfied lip biting after their short but completely unexpected fake hug.

'Ah, we've been expecting you.' The receptionist handed Riley a key card and offered them the service of a bellhop, but they both declined, grabbing their bags. 'Your room is 512. It's on the fifth floor, forth door on the right.'

Riley nodded thankfully and headed for the elevator.

'I didn't know the room was on your name.' The dark-haired woman beside his lifted her shoulders rather uninterested as the bell of the elevator announced its arrival. 'Lillian booked it, so if you're so interested, ask her.'

They had been silent all the way from the airport. No, Riley was silent or more like, completely passive, while they were slowly driving through the streets of New York in their rented SUV. She would answer him with short, one-syllable words, she would snap back at him for no reason and she would purse her lips in a thin line with every mention of Nora's name. Gabriel had decided that she too had seen Nora's delicate and discreet way of showing Gabriel she was not too fond of Riley. Sometimes, times like these, he really wanted to be able to read minds with his chip. Or at least Riley's.

'Riley, could you tell me what's bothering you?' As the elevator chimed and agent Neal made a couple of quick steps on the floor, Gabriel encircled her wrist and pulled her closer to him, but she was fast to free herself from his grip. He actually had to catch up to her to talk to her.

'Already slipping into a routine, huh?' He could swear he heard hurt in her words.

'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'Nothing, forget about it.'

She slid the key card in the electronic lock and a quiet beep, followed by the sound of the door being unlocked muted a curse that had escaped his mouth.

As he opened the door, being the gentleman that he usually was, he let Riley walk in the room first. There were windows covering the entire wall, the brilliant sunlight that was pouring in through them making everything seem a little more yellow. It was an airy room, the light fragrance of lavender invading his nostrils. On north wall there was a TV set, a small glass coffee table and a cream-colored sofa behind it. On the other side of the room there was a king sized bed with a lot of pillows thrown on it, but essentially, two were meant to lay there.

'Dibs on the bed.' He elbowed her ever so slightly, thinking that she might retort to him, falling back to their regular routine, her bad mood only caused by jet lag.

'Fine. I'll sleep on the couch.' Her shoulders rose and fell in the same uninterested not caring manner as they had been doing all day and Gabriel caught himself missing their friendly flirting banter. He was already opening his mouth to respond that they could, possibly, share it eventually, when the coldness in her voice stopped him. Riley shoved him in the shoulder, unpacked her stuff in the relatively big wardrobe, grabbed a few things and slammed the door on the bathroom.

Five minutes later she came out, make up free, chestnuts hair pulled into a high pony tail. She had changed into a sports bra, that revealed her midriff, and short sport shorts. Her exposed stomach only reminded him just how tough his partner could be – he could finally see scars of past wounds and the amount of the uneven flesh on her stomach made his heart roll into a painful ball, because he knew just how bad a stab wound hurt; he found himself clenching his hands into fists wanting to find and rearrange the face of whomever had caused her such pain.

If she wasn't in such a bad mood, he could tease her a bit, imply shamelessly that she was practically half-naked in front of him, and maybe even pay her a compliment on her lean tight figure. 'I'll hit the gym; I'm taking my phone if you need me to exchange make up tips.'

He didn't like angry Riley, especially if she was apparently angry at him for no reason. Or maybe there was a reason that he was totally oblivious to.

An hour passed as Gabriel had unpacked – he had noticed that Riley's stuff was on the one side of the wardrobe, the only thing hanged on a hanger and not folded with care was a short black sequined dress with an open back. He smirked to himself, satisfied with the mental imaged of Riley wearing that dress that showed up in his mind. After he had put all the clothes he brought with him on the other side of the wardrobe, he watched some cheesy Spanish soap opera, the chip translating the familiar plotline as the time passed. He wondered where Riley might be, but refrained himself from chipping into the security cameras at the gym. Instead he changed into a fitted t-shirt and sweatpants and made his way to where his partner was.

* * *

He had never seen her so furiously hit and hit and hit that punching bag. Her small fists were jabbing into it, swinging it from side to side. The chain that held the punching bag was twisting itself as she continued punching. She huffed when the bag had swung itself so much she could no longer aim into it.

He came closer, observing Riley, not wanting a black eye if she accidentally punched him. Small beads of sweat had formed all over her chest, on her stomach, her legs. Muscles were outlined by slightly tanned skin. He stopped the punching bag from twisting and swinging, pressing it down with his body. It was as if Riley didn't even notice his presence. She just kept hitting it until she was completely out of breath. She stopped for a second, resting her palms on her knees, breathed in and out a couple of times, then resumed to the task of letting out her anger.

'You look like you could use a sparring partner?' He popped his head to the side of the punching bag, nearly receiving a punch to his nose.

'You'd love that, wouldn't you?' The dark-haired agents stopped hitting the punching bag, this time, but this time, she plopped herself on the mat, one hand wiping the sweat from her forehead, the other rested on her toned stomach. She could see her whole body shivering with exhaustion, chest and stomach both rising and falling rapidly as she tried to catch a breath. Her brows furrowed as she watched him bend over her stretching out a hand for her to take. She did.

Gabriel pulled her and apparently he had pulled a bit too strong because she practically bumped into him, knocking both of them to the ground. She was lying on him, laughing as if he had just told her the funniest story in the world.

'You give up way too easily.' She poked him on the chest as she was standing up, the closeness of their bodies visibly uncomfortable for them both. It was nice hearing Riley laugh after a whole day full of her ignoring him. 'Makes me wonder if you really are as strong as they say. Maybe Nelson would be a far better match than me for a sparring match.'

They had sparred far too many times for Riley to not know his true strength. She also knew each of his weaknesses. But he also had the leverage of knowing just how and where to hit to tackle her to the ground. They claimed their positions, circling each other for a couple of seconds before Gabriel made a step forward and tried to jab her in her rib cage. She made a small jump back, avoiding his fist and saw a crack in his defense as she raised her knee to meet with his stomach. Gabriel saw what she was doing the second before her kneecap touched the skin of his stomach and grabbed her leg, causing her instability. She elbowed him to the ribs and he quickly released his grip on her, crunching just a bit.

'Didn't know you spoke Russian, Riley.' Gabriel tried to make small talk as he was catching up to her speed.

'There's a lot more you don't know about me, there a lot more for you to learn.' She teased. Riley Neal knew exactly how much her past interested Gabriel and she never missed a chance to remind of all the stuff he could know if he was to open her personnel file.

'Well, I can always pull up your record and find out everything I need to know,' Gabriel licked his lips provokingly looking at her straight in her green eyes as they both made couple of steps away from each other.

'Don't you dare.' With that she made a rapid kick to his gut.

They continued their little violent dance in the empty gym and at one time Gabriel found himself, pulling his sweaty shirt over his head and throwing it somewhere behind him.

Riley tried to punch him several times but he was just a tad quicker than her; although she was the one that was moving forward, while he was the one stepping backwards every single time she would swing her small fist to him.

'Running out place to run, Vaughn,' Riley laughed as she noticed his back was soon to touch the wall. She was sure of her next punch, seeing as there was little to no space left between Gabriel's back and the white wall. She swung it at him unprepared for what was to follow.

Gabriel blocked her arm with his own and quickly managed to encircle her fist with his fingers. He twisted her forearm behind her, making her turn her back on him. He grabbed her other wrist and pressed it down to her body, making sure she didn't resist. With one swift move his victory was guaranteed as he turned her body to face the wall and pressed her firmly to it.

He won.

His chest was pressed to her back, while her chest was pressed to the wall. He had pushed his own body so close to hers, they both could feel the contours of the other's body touching their own. He could not only see and hear the intake of her short breaths – he could feel them with his entire frame. The sweet smell of her perfume still lingered on her skin despite their intense work out and in a moment he felt intoxicated, the exposed crook of her neck enticing him to taste her skin. And he almost did, the only thing stopping him was the sound of Riley sucking in a breath as he pressed closer and closer. He had never been this close to her small frame and he just couldn't miss the opportunity to have some fun.

'I call dibs on the bathroom.' His voice was as seductive as it could get and his lips almost grazed the soft flesh of her earlobe. He felt how her body curved involuntarily, shaken by shivers of unknown origin.

Then he dropped her hands backing off of her, because he knew that if she was given the chance, she would kill him.

'Oh, hell no!' Agent Neal squealed and laughed at the same time as she raced back to their room, trying to catch up with her roommate.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry it took longer for me to update, but I've been busy at school and I also had a writer's block, which, to me at least, is quite clear in the first part of this chapter. Anyways, I hope you liked this one and I would love to read your reviews on it later :) I also got questions about the agents' covers, so I hope I've answered everything here. I usually write from Gabriel's POV, but decided to write the first part from Riley's POV just because I wanted to explore her character a bit more. Sorry if a little OCC at first, but writer's block is a mean bitch.**

* * *

Riley had just turned off the shower when she heard a muffled knock through the bathroom door, somewhere in the distance. At first she thought that someone – Gabriel – was knocking to check on her, because she _was _taking her time in that bathroom, but then the knocking repeated itself. She needed desperately to wash off any of the lingering tension in her limbs, along with the embarrassment she received from her lost sparring match with Gabriel not more than half an hour ago. Riley could feel the knots on the back of her neck being loosened as the steaming hot water ran down her shoulder; she could feel her muscles finally relaxing after the intense work out.

The knock repeated itself for the first time and she heard her partner's groggy "I'm coming". She then heard the almost silent unlocking of the door and panic overtook her body.

'Gabriel, who is it?' He gave no answer.

Riley had strictly instructed Gabriel to not open to anyone as long as she was in the bathroom – she was somehow worried that their covers, however thin and transparent they were, would be compromised and that some Russian man who looked more like a bear would come and teach them not to mess with the mob.

'Or,' she thought to herself, 'it could be Nora.' Riley tried to ignore the lump that formed in her throat when the image of the blonde agent crossed her mind. Or it could have been the cleaning lady, or maybe Gabriel had ordered room service. But then she remembered hanging a 'Do not disturb' sign on the doorknob.

'Gabriel, damn it,' she cursed louder, already wrapping a soft long towel around her body, that stopped mid-thigh. 'Who's at the door, Gabriel?'

She was mumbling as she left the bathroom, irked by the lack of response she got. She could hear Gabriel greet whoever was at the door, but he couldn't answer her? Riley was his protector after all and she couldn't as much as get a bath without him going completely off book. The dark-haired agent stopped in her tracks, startled and a bit intimidated by Gabriel's wide-eyed once-over look he gave her, eyes sliding up and down her body, not missing a single curve. She watched, feeling the blood rush into her cheeks, as his lips stretched into a satisfied smirk. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to hide somewhere, cover her whole body, and stay there where his blue eyes couldn't catch on to her. Yet she held his gaze, chewing on her lower lip nervously.

Then someone cleared their throat.

Riley's neck snapped in that direction, hand instinctively reaching for gun only to realize it wasn't really there. She sighed in relief when she noticed the blonde in front of her. At least it wasn't a bear-looking Russian mobster, ready to rearrange their faces. Not that she couldn't handle a man like that. Or Nora for that matter.

'Agent Skyler.' Riley greeted with a nod to her head. Then she disappeared again in the bathroom, slightly out of breath because of that freshly formed lump in her throat. She wasn't going to hang around Nora Skyler wearing a cotton towel. So she changed into a pair of dark-washed jeans and a light blue shirt with a V-neck and put her damp hair into a messy ponytail. She returned to the main room then, where it was as if Nora and Gabriel hadn't moved an inch for the five minutes she was in the bathroom changing.

'Agent Neal. Gabe.'

* * *

'I see you've been having fun?' Nora Skyler was quietly watching, a smug, almost self-confident smile playing on her face. Her arms were crossed before her chest and she was wearing the same short dress she had worn when they met for the first time at the airport.

She raised an eyebrow directing her eyes to Gabriel's damp hair, indicating that he too had taken a shower.

'What do you mean?' Gabriel was sort of intimidated how his partner and his ex were now practically sizing each other up. He noticed Riley's knitted eyebrows, her slightly tilted head and defensive posture. Nora on the other hand was super calm, arms now rested next to her body, a confident smirk, a bit cocky even. He could sense the air thickening with tension by the second. Not that he wouldn't enjoy a cat between these two, but knowing their skills, they might both be dead in the end. He had to think of something to relieve all the pressure.

'Why are you here?' Riley managed to get it together quicker than him and shot the blonde agent a questioning look.

'I needed to fill you in,' Nora said as she reached inside her handbag and then handed them each a copy of a case file. As Riley and Gabriel opened the files and skimming through all the information, she started talking and Gabriel could almost sense the pride, he tone was exuding. 'Two and a half years ago, Tetazoo offered me a quick undercover job. '

She stopped and looked at Gabriel. When he realized the timing and everything, he raised his eyes to meet hers. He expected to see remorse, some sort of apology, or a sad smile. Nothing. That's what he saw. Her bluish eyes were empty, her expression professional, not even a flush on her cheeks, caused by some kind of insecurity.

Gabriel then felt how Riley's hand slid to his forearm and held her touch for a bit. His blue eyes met her green ones and all he couldn't see in Nora's eyes, he saw in Riley's. The sad sympathetic smile, the glistening apologetic eyes, even though she had nothing to do with any of it. It made him a little warm inside, knowing that he had her to rely on.

So this was why Nora gave them up. An undercover mission with a Russian mobster. Suddenly his confidence and the smirk fell off his face all the while his anger and frustration were building up.

'It was more of a go in, extract the target, get out.' Nora continued. 'My target was actually a weapon engineer that Ivanich had kidnapped for some blueprints. The mission itself failed but Ivanich took an interest in me and Tetazoo suggested that I be his mole into his organization. And since then I've been discreetly leading this entire charade into oblivion.'

'So, you pretty much gave Gabriel up for the chance of sleeping with the enemy and then ratting them out to Uncle Sam, huh?' Riley totally shocked both of them – she was silent for the better part of their conversation and her question came out of nowhere, saying exactly what Gabriel just couldn't for reasons unknown. It wasn't that he was scared or something like that, he still found himself thinking that Nora's image in front of him was nothing but an ethereal render, like those of Amelia Mei Chen liked to implant in his mind once upon a time. He felt numb around her and that was probably what had shaken his grounds. After Amelia, she had been the only one he was able to love, to touch. And seeing her so different, so emotionless, harsh, cruel almost, it made him think she was a lot more a robot than he was.

'What's her problem?' A perfectly manicured finger pointed at Riley and Gabriel heard how she sucked in a sharp breath and cracked her knuckles discreetly.

'I just know a thing or two about people screwing you over for a job, that's all.' A sarcastic smile stretched Riley's lips as she shifted the weight of her body from one leg to the other. Gabriel had never thought that she would be so hostile towards Nora, but then he decided that she was just responding to the blonde's hostility anyways. Or maybe her protective instincts were tingling, who knew. Or maybe… just maybe, that thought crossed his mind like a bullet, maybe she was jealous.

_No, that wasn't it._

'Anyway, your covers.' Nora continued, as if Riley hadn't just insulted her in the most obvious and rather creative way she could muster up.

'Yeah, what was that about? Those hugs?' Gabriel furrowed his brows, remembering how awkward it felt hugging Nora for the first time in forever.

'Well, ever since I found out there was going to be an investigation, I told Ivanich that I'll be receiving some family visits. And then I find out it's you… and…'

Riley interrupted. 'Why family, why not say we're some sort of friends, or former classmates? Or _anything_ else for that matter.' It was as if lightning bolts were being thrown by both women, two light pairs of eyes, shimmering with energy, one that was very dangerous to be around.

'Trust me, I also not dying to be fake-related to you too, but you should suck it up unless you don't want him to kill you in cold blood.' Nora knitted her eyebrows, then found a place to sit on a small armchair right next to the coffee table crossing her legs. Gabriel couldn't help but get that spoiled diva vibe from her and that made him shiver, goosebumps of memories when she was nice, friendly and charmingly enthusiastic about everything covered his arms and his neck. She had changed so much, he even doubted if it was really Nora sitting in that cream armchair or some twisted reflection of hers. 'Anatoly has quite the amount of powerful friends and if I hadn't introduced you to him as family members, he would have run a background check on both your asses so deep, he'd know your grandma's favorite color. But he trusted me when I told him you're both safe.'

'How am I supposed to keep a cover if I don't know anything about you, agent Skyler? Gabriel would have done a far better job at acting as the relative.' She shot him an apologetic smile for bringing him into the apparently unpleasant conversation. Even though Vaughn could practically feel how Riley tensed because of Nora's little speech, she still kept her professional-as-always stance that made him admire her for the dignity she exuded despite her verbal opponent; that professionalism of hers also annoyed him a bit, because Riley rarely relaxed and he could seldom see her calmer and less tensed side. He found himself thinking about the way her lips had grazed the skin on his neck in the plane while she was fidgeting in her sleep and the feeling that enveloped his entire body was warmth. For a moment there he was completely oblivious to Skyler's presence in the room.

'It would be weird calling Gabriel my cousin, don't you think? I'm sure you're well informed about our little _situation_ here.'

So that was what she thought of their passionate relationship, which was once the best thing in their lives? A situation that had already been dealt with long ago.

'Plus, I am sure you wouldn't be too happy if I had made you call your beloved Charlie Griffin family. You know how it is.' Riley's eyes widened in disbelief. She gulped as if to cover an emotion she didn't want to show.

'Call me when you need me, Gabriel.' She stormed out of the room, shoving the blonde in the left shoulder and loudly slamming the door behind herself.

'What the hell, Nora?' Gabriel's bewildered eyes shot right up at hers, shocked at the blow below the belt. He never remembered her like that – a bully, a person without any kind of sympathy, as if it had been embedded into her DNA to be mean.

'I did my homework, read her file. I had to be prepared for anything.' She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, as if she hadn't done anything bad. 'It's quite the interesting read, isn't it.'

She raised her eyebrow when she noticed how Gabriel averted his eyes and leaned his body on the armrest of the couch. 'You've never read it, did you? Do you know she killed a man when she was fifteen?'

Gabriel scoffed in annoyance, instincts to protect his missing partner kicking in. 'Yes, yet I am missing why is this relevant.'

'There must be something about her. I remember that you had chipped me before we had even met, and you're partners with her for what, a year and a half now? She must be great in bed then.'

'It's not like that. We're friends. Partners. We take care of each other.'

She just rolled her eyes.

'You've changed, you know.' Gabriel didn't even realized his lips had formed a sad smile and his shoulders had fallen, struck by the realization, that the woman he had once loved so deeply was now someone he would rather punch in the face. All traces of the previous Nora – the sweet, sensitive, brave and honest Nora – were brutally erased and somebody or something had transformed her into that callous, rude, and proud creature. She looked her best on the outside, but was impossibly corrupted on the inside.

'I'm a woman in a man's land, _Gabe_. Blatancy is how I managed to keep a successful cover and gather Anatoly's attention. You don't get to be the princess of the Russian mafia by being cute and hopeful and innocent. I had to be tough, Gabriel, and I am sorry if this' she made a gesture to her body, 'doesn't appeal to you, but that's what I had to do to survive and quite frankly, nobody is asking for your opinion anymore.'

He couldn't even recognize her anymore. Even the way she spoke was different and unknown to him. The warmth and affection her voice once held when saying his name had now been replaced by a rather repulsive diplomacy and animosity. Her glaring blue eyes were a bit foggy now, her gaze a lot more judgmental and proud. Same went for her posture – the way she had straightened her back, the way her upper body was bent, even her slightly raised chin, it was all way too unfamiliar to him.

A reflection in a mirror, nothing more. And it felt permanent. The old Nora would never show herself again, Gabriel was certain of that.

'Yeah, but did you have to be harsh on her? I mean, you barely know Riley?'

'I see…' She pursed her plump red lips into a tight line and then smiled one cold smile. 'Your _protector_ needs to understand that I'm the one running the operation. I've been on this for more than two years and I won't let some Secret Service chic ruin it. Because if this goes awry, it will blow up in all our faces majorly. You too need to know that. Everything you do that concerns the mission you have to run past me. I know Anatoly Ivanich like no one else and I can more or less predict how he would react to certain outside factors like an undercover super-human and his protector.' Every time she mentioned Riley, she would call her his protector as if she was nothing more than a bodyguard, when Gabriel had made clear that she was a lot more than a walking bulletproof vest to him. She was his partner and he couldn't help feeling infuriated by how much Nora had underestimated Riley's abilities.

'Seems to me like you'll be sharing a bed,' she got up from her seat and smoothed down the wrinkles that had formed on the fabric of the skirt, when it became clear that Gabriel had nothing more to say to his ex-lover. She reached inside her handbag again and left a piece of paper, no bigger than a business card, on the coffee table. 'Be there.'

For the first time since they had laid eyes on one another in two years, he saw a somewhat sincere smile, but he just wasn't too sure because her perfectly polished blonde locks fell beside her face as she left the door.

* * *

Gabriel found Riley at the hotel bar. She had ordered a beer and as always when nervous, she was playing with the sticker on the neck of the green glass. It seemed as if she hadn't even touched the drink. Her shoulders were sort of slumped downwards, her hair now dry, hid well the slight flush in her cheeks.

'You gonna drink that?' Vaughn smiled sympathetically and found a seat next to her on one of the bar stools. As the bartender closed in to get his order the agent just signed to Riley's bottle. The bartender nodded and ten seconds later a beer bottle was standing on top of the bar before him.

'Cheers!' Riley said in a quiet voice. They clinked they bottles and each took a swig. A comfortable silence had settled in between them before Riley sighed heavily and turned her body to face the other agent.

'I'm sorry about storming out on you like that.' She closed her eyes for a second, breathing in a lungful of air, before opening them again.

'Yeah, not very protective of you.' Gabriel chuckled, nudging her lightly on the arm. 'What if Nora had hurt me? Or worse, hug me again.'

It was Riley's time to chuckle at the nice thought of Gabriel always being able to make her smile, even if it concerned his ex. 'I would love to see her try that.'

Her eyes were met by the raised eyebrow of her partner. 'Is that jealousy I hear?' He made a funnel with his hand and leaned in closer to the dark-haired agent, receiving a slap on the shoulder.

'No.' He could swear he saw her blush for a moment. 'She just… irks me. How did she even know about Charlie?'

Gabriel could never guess what it was about Special Agent Charlie Griffin that bugged him so much. Was it the fact that he was a job stealing jackass or the fact every time he would lay eyes on Riley, he would look at her as if she's naked. Or perhaps the fact that he had seen her naked drove Gabriel nuts. Griffin had experienced wild night and tender moments with Riley, ones that Gabriel would probably never even as much as taste.

'Apparently she read your file.' Riley's eyes widened. 'She also knew some other… stuff.'

Riley understood immediately what he was talking about and fingers gripped tightly the bottle, making the skin on her knuckles white as snow. He could still see the small grazes on them from yesterday when she was so angry at him; she practically broke the car's dashboard with her fist. Gabriel was sure that if she were to grip just a little more firmly on the glass, she'd definitely break it.

'That's supposed to be sealed.'

'Apparently she has quite the level of clearance. She even asked me if I have read your file.' Gabriel could see how her whole body writhed with frustration. 'Riley, is there something I need to know, that's relevant to the mission. Like your fluent Russian, for example?'

'Nothing to do with the case.' She sighed and her hand reached up to her temples massaging them in order to relax.

Riley was infuriated with these insinuations, Gabriel could see that and his heart clenched when he realized that he was pressuring her, practically falling in some of Nora's perfect schemes to mess with Riley's head as it was evident the two of them didn't like each other at all. He knew Riley could keep a professional stance when on clock, but now all he could see was how vulnerable and breakable she looked – her skin paler because of her conversation with Skyler, her eyes glistening with anger, when she found out that each of her personal details Nora already knew. It reminded him of when she was sleeping next to him on the plane. There and then he saw a doll like vulnerability, a certain perfection in her features. Now all he saw was raw hurt.

'I'm sorry, it's not my business to begin with.'

She exhaled loudly and mumbled beneath her breath. 'Nothing classified or weird about my Russian. My first assignment as an agent was the U.S. Ambassador in Russia. I lived there for five months. It's not a hard language to pick up. And if you had just asked me, I would have told you, of course. Why the hell would you believe I would jeopardize a high-profile case like that anyway?'

'Well there you go.' Gabriel smiled softly at his partner, all hot and bothered in front of him like that. 'Although, I do have to admit that it's a lot more interesting getting to know you old-school. It's also a lot more entertaining than to just chip you. How else would I have learned about your secret move?'

'My secret move?' Riley raised an eyebrow and laughed, probably recalling her defeat from their intense sparring match. It was nice, watching her smile and laugh with that gorgeous smile of hers.

'Yes, the one where you kick a man in the guts and then once more in the shins. I wouldn't be able to finally discover your secret move if I had just chipped you. There's no "How to beat Riley Neal" tutorial on Youtube. I had to rely on my psychical strength and my good looks and gorgeous smile to beat you.'

'Oh, so your smile was the reason you pinned me to that wall?' She took a swig of beer, smiling at nothing. 'Must be one hell of a smile then.'

'Oh, just admit it, I won't judge!' Gabriel pleaded, slapping his most charming grin on his face.

Riley scoffed, rolling her eyes. 'Admit what?'

'You liked it, _me_ pinning _you_ to the wall.'

'You're one smug bastard, you know that?' Riley laughed, finishing her beer, same time he was finishing his. 'I want a rematch, soon!'

'Good then, tomorrow morning.' Gabriel stood up and Riley followed. He led her to the elevators, instinctively putting a palm on the small of her back. 'Now, come on, we have a date to prepare for.'

* * *

**So, I've written Nora to be a bit too generic in a sense that she's that not-giving-a-crap-about-anything type of girl. Should I explore deeper the character, or should I leave her at that?**

**Thank you for taking your time to read and (possibly) review :) **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Long time no chapter! I was really busy this last month, being on a vacation with my family and then with school pressuring me and finals and all. I was also very sad to know that Intelligence got canceled and that really made me feel very uninspired, but after a break and some time off I am here with my personal favorite chapter so far! I really hope you like it and excuse this suuuuuuper late upload. Please read and review! Thank you!**

* * *

When the pair of agents returned to their room Gabriel showed Riley the note Nora had left. The small note had a time and a place where Gabriel and Riley were being expected to meet with Anatoly Ivanich, everything written in the perfect handwriting of Nora. They were supposed to meet the Russian and his undercover lover on the following evening in one of his fancy-shmancy restaurants for a friendly dinner among family. Funny enough, nothing between Nora and Riley seemed friendly to Gabriel. Sarcasm and not-so-concealed insults were exchanged earlier in the day and he could still see the consequences of their oh-so-friendly conversation over Riley's strained features and frowned mouth. Upon seeing that, Riley scoffed, saying that the card was way too pretentious, even endangering to the cover, because she personally would have never sent an invitation like this for a family dinner to a family member. The whole point of family was closeness, familiarity, and that had been anything but, she had stated before throwing it carelessly on the coffee table. Vaughn realized that despite that she hadn't been around her family much she really appreciated and cherished it. What Riley had gone through had shown her just how much her family had meant for her and even though her mother wasn't around to guide her through life, she had done alright. He felt sort of ticklish with pride for his partner.

'You appreciate something a lot more when you don't have it,' she had said once before, when they were talking about her past. Little did she know, but Gabriel was also appreciating something at that same time – her – from a safe distance. Safe enough to not affect the way they worked together in sync. Sometimes he asked himself how thoughts like that were even crossing his mind. He would brush off imaginary discreet kisses and delicate touches from his mind a bit too hard for him to admit, but these unachievable dreams were forever etched in the corner of his mind appearing at the worst of times.

They were partners, he could not afford himself to think like that and to even let himself fall for his partner. No, they weren't even supposed to be that, because they were attached, one way or another. No, she was supposed to be a walking Kevlar vest, catching bullets and dying for him every time they would walk out of their apartments. She wasn't supposed to be that – he had only recently discovered just how pretty his partner actually was, all long legs and raven locks, and he just could not imagine how a creature this perfect could find her death in a way so gruesome. And every time a thought like _that_ would cross his mind he liked to think that Riley was a tough one, she would never let go without a fight, she was able to take care of herself. Not that this gave him any comfort. If it were up to him, he'd protect her anyway he could. But unfortunately the roles had been long before reversed.

On a lighter note, Gabriel could practically feel the irritation for Nora Riley was exuding with her every move and her every breath and he couldn't help but smile at the undisguised jealousy she was feeling. He loved it when she would become possessive over him, and he loved it even more because most of the times she wasn't even aware she was doing it.

'A bit jealous, maybe?' Gabriel teased after her whole tirade about family and closeness and unnecessary formalities. The look she sent his way could both set him on fire and freeze the blood that ran in his veins. He loved it when she behaved like that – irrational even to herself, upset about things that were out of her reach and out of her business. That just fed him more material for teasing later.

'Me?' She stopped looking at the files Nora had provided them with, a dark brow raised in something of disbelief. 'Why on earth would I be jealous of agent Skyler?' _Ever the professional_, Gabriel thought when Riley referred even to the woman she disliked with the appropriate surname. Years in training for the Secret Service had taught her well. 'Enlighten me, please!' She snapped.

'You just seem a bit… tense,' Gabriel shrugged his shoulders mockingly and leaned towards her. 'Figured that would be the only _rational_ explanation why you don't like Nora.'

'Nope, the only reason I don't like your fabulous Nora is the fact that she read my file and started discussing it with such ease. There are things there that should stay strictly on paper.' He smiled at the obvious lie. He noticed her white knuckles as she was gripping the pieces of paper tighter and tighter and the gulp she had made after answering him. They had already had that discussion and it almost made Gabriel feel guilty that he took pleasure in knowing Riley was jealous.

'Whatever you say… honey.' She threw her folder at his dimpled face, but that giant grin of his remained there. He kept pushing her buttons, teasing her and taunting her slightly more than usually, just waiting for her outburst and craving a reaction. _Any_ kind of reaction. Gabriel could see she was holding back a lot of emotions in the name of professionalism, as if she was trying to prove herself to someone who wasn't even in the room. _Nora_, he knew. All of that was putting pressure on her, judging by her pursed in a tight line lips, the lack of flush on her cheeks, she usually had when she was around him, and the way her eyelids fluttered tiredly.

Riley sighed as she retrieved the pieces of paper. 'Let's just go throw our covers once more, I wouldn't like to be caught off guard tomorrow evening.'

'Let's.'

'We'll start with something easy. What's my favorite color?'

He spoke without even thinking.'Green.'

She shot him an unimpressed glance. 'I'm flattered you know _my_ favorite color, but what about Undercover Riley's favorite color?' Gabriel could swear on his life he saw a slight smile and a faint blush take over her face.

'Well then, blue, like my eyes.' They both laughed. 'What's mine?'

'Easy, purple.'

They continued going over small details about their fake relationship, discussing what would sound terribly made up and what would actually sound realistic. They decided they would not be one of those super-romantic couples, as both agents were put off from that kind of behaviour. They decided they would call each other by name and not by some goofy animal nickname.

Sometime during the evening Riley had moved next to him on the couch, legs tucked underneath her body, her arm touching his arm. They were still discussing where their first date would have been, unable to decide between a movie date and a cheeseburgers and milkshakes kind of date. Both Gabriel and Riley were feeling tired, that he could tell - her eyes were blinking slowly, her movements a bit slow too, speech slurred the slightest and her head rested on his shoulders. Vaughn gulped, swallowing past the lump in his throat that had formed when he realized they were supposed to sleep in one bed. At one point he felt Riley's whole body relax next to him as her head weighed down more on his shoulder. Her breathing was steady and quiet as she exhaled small puffs of warm breath against his skin. He smiled to nobody in particular at his partner's recent habit of falling asleep on his shoulder, her cheek close to his cheek, lips only inches away from his lips, the warmth of her calm breathing caressing his skin. The folder that contained the information on their covers had slipped from her fingers and was now lying somewhere on the carpet.

'Riley!' Gabriel whispered a little louder than normal, nudging her slightly with his elbow. The response he got was a stiffened yawn and Riley's body relaxing a bit more against his. This for some reason unknown made him smile even more. He stood up slowly, trying not to make any kind of noise so as to not wake her up, and scooped her up in his arms like a child. Riley's head immediately found its spot at the dip of his shoulder and her hands pressed lightly against his chest. His heart fluttered.

The moment she had fallen asleep her strained face had relaxed, her features were back with their soft beauty, not even a trace of terrible conversations and exhausting work-out sessions. She looked so peaceful as he laid her on the bed and threw a blanket on her slumbering figure. She snuggled more into it and the corners of her mouth rose in the slightest of smiles.

Gabriel sighed then, wondering where he was supposed to sleep. He figured Riley would be a bit intimidated if she had realized they had slept in the same bed, but at the same time every muscle in his body ached because of that long flight. At the end, he decided that he was way too tired and his body was hurting way too much for him to sleep on the couch, so he just slipped under the covers in the same bed as Riley. Out of respect for his partner though he tried to stay as farther from her as he could.

How little did he know.

* * *

She wasn't one to dream at night. The rare times she would at least remember her dream, it was always connected to work somehow.

It was one of the calmest and most pleasant dreams she had ever had. It didn't have anything to do with Cybercom cases or protecting the President and getting stabbed five times while doing so. No, it was just right, _yes_, it felt right. And it felt good. She was surrounded by warmth – she felt it all over her body – all over her back, right there on the skin of her neck, somewhere down around her legs, sliding onto her arms. She also felt it on her stomach right above the hem of her shorts, where an elongated scar reminded of an old deep knife wound – a pulsating kind of heat, burning with a heat that only made her feel safer and protected, radiating, luring her to dive deeper into it, closer and closer to the source. And so she did.

* * *

Something shifted next to Gabriel's sleeping form. Something pressed hard against his chest and suddenly everything around him started smelling like peonies. It all felt strangely familiar, rising his heartbeat slightly and even forming a lump in his throat he just couldn't swallow past. It felt good though, he felt safe and calm. He felt skin somewhere near his lips and instinctively placed a chaste kiss on it., as if it was the most natural and normal thing in the world, as if he was doing this all the time. The muffled hum made everything come back to him from the previous night.

This was Riley next to him. Her back was pressed flat against his chest, his nose buried in her raven hair that smelled like _peonies_, while his hand was tightly wrapped around her lithe body. Their legs were entangled together, one of his slung over her bare one. His eyes traveled up and down her body until they stopped on her flat stomach. Riley's thin top had ridden up sometime while she was sleeping and his hand was now lying on the exposed flesh. Gabriel could feel her burning skin underneath his fingers, the unevenness of scar tissue somewhere there.

She looked so beautiful, he thought and realized he was thinking that a lot lately. The way the warm sunlight was sliding on her tan skin, how her messy hair was slung around her shoulder, leaving the paler skin on her neck exposed. Her lips were slightly opened and her cheeks were the most gorgeous shade of pink. Gabriel felt a sudden desire to touch her, to feel the softness of her skin, her silky hair, her warm breath against his own flesh. His fingers started itching and Gabriel pulled away, lying on his back, restricting himself to touch her even the slightest, because he feared that he wouldn't be able to bring himself to stop once he felt her delicate flesh.

Maybe it was just a morning thing, Gabriel hoped, painfully admitting to himself it had been a while since the last time a woman was sleeping in his own bed. Maybe he was just trying to convince himself that the butterflies in his stomach at the sight of Nora didn't exist, because he was just so put off by her behavior later, but he knew better.

He didn't know what caused the hunger to touch Riley, to feel the goose bumps underneath his fingers all of a sudden, but he knew one hundred percent that he needed a long cold shower, to calm the storm inside his body, at least. Vaughn didn't want to leave the bed, her warm body pressed against hers, but he forced himself to do this and from a distance he felt a lot better, now in full control, knowing he wouldn't do something as stupid as run his fingers across his partner's body.

He would let her sleep in this morning. Riley would probably kill him, but he didn't care; he just wanted the calm image of the brunette to last a little longer. He sighed, not wanting to part with the sight of her, but then he reminded himself that she was his partner, _just_ his partner and just partners didn't' t stare at each other's sleeping form.

* * *

The warmth that was enveloping her every curve was now gone as her skin came in contact with the chilly air. She turned in her sleep, needing to find the source of the heat, to snuggle next to it again, but all she felt were the cotton sheets, bearing nothing but a trace of the familiar warmth. She opened her eyes and closed them shut the moment the sunlight blurred her vision and made her head spin. She rubbed her eyelids and tried again. A soft groan escaped her lips as she took in her surroundings. She was lying in the king-size bed of a New York hotel room, body covered with a thin blanket. She suddenly felt a lump in her throat but a look under the sheet calmed her as she saw her shorts and her tank top still on. She must have fallen asleep with them on.

Riley instinctively stretched her arm to her left and felt a small frown form on her face as she realized she was alone. The last thing she remembered before apparently falling asleep was talking to Gabriel about their covers. They were discussing the couple's first kiss and she remembered how uncomfortable that had made her feel. She remembered Gabriel's chuckle and his teasing, noting the flush that had overtook her cheeks.

Then, nothing.

Just the warmth of something close to her, pulling her nearer and nearer.

And when she noticed how the couch looked – all papers and files, folders and surveillance photos, it hit her like a blow to the chest that Gabriel had slept in the same bed. Riley bit her lip when she realized that the heat that she was dreaming about, the heat that was pulling her closer, pressing her into something hard and solid was probably her partner.

Had they _cuddled _in their sleep?

She felt her throat sore and dry as the lump in her throat returned, this time impossible to swallow past it. Her clothes smelled like his cologne, she smelled it all over her. She tried to convince herself that nothing happened that night, because if it had, she wasn't going to be able to look him in the eye again. She would lose her job for one, but she would lose him too. And that's why she reline on professionalism so much – she didn't want to lose her partner.

She looked around the big room only to find Gabriel missing. She almost stopped breathing, trying to hear if the shower was running but everything was silent, save for a muffled sound of a TV working somewhere in the room next to their own. By now her heart was pounding and worry was beginning to build up. Gabriel knew that when here in New York he wasn't allowed to go anywhere without Riley, especially when a Russian arms dealer was roaming the streets with Vaughn's ex on his hand. He was instructed by Lillian and for once in the time they were working together he had actually agreed to comply with the rules set. Which didn't explain why he wasn't present in the room.

Riley sighed heavily and entered the bathroom, not even sure what she was looking for. What she found lifted the stone on her shoulders. There, on the big bathroom mirror a small note was stuck with some duct tape, Gabriel's chicken scratch contrasting with the white paper:

"_Don't worry about me; I just went to grab breakfast. It was around nine thirty._

_Coffee and donuts are on the coffee table._

_I was promised a rematch, meet you at the gym._

_G."_

Riley smiled and tilted her head to look at the small lounge area. There, as promised, stood a Starbucks paper cup with Soy Latte, undoubtedly, and a small box with strawberry cream donuts – her guilty pleasure. She smiled at the mirror, either because Gabriel knew her so well or because she was that predictable. She then gazed at her watch. A quarter to ten.

But as always the thought that maybe somebody had worked out an elaborate plan to plant everything – the coffee, the note, the donuts – crossed her mind and her stomach shrank into a ball of nerves.

She needed to call him, needed to know that he wasn't electrocuted by pressing the elevator button or whatever.

'Where are you?' He answered on the second beep, as always, most of the time doing it just to spite her.

'In the gym, as promised.' She sighed in relief, every cell in her body relaxing. His Southern drawl made her smile, but seeing the small grin dancing on her face, Riley shook her head, straightened her posture as if somebody was watching and the mask of professionalism covered her face.

'Why didn't you wake me up? You know you're not sup-'

He interrupted, 'I'll stay put, don't worry, Riley. Meet you in half an hour here?'

'Yeah, sure, Gabriel.'

* * *

He had to admire Riley's punctuality. She turned up at the gym exactly in ten fifteen, not a minute earlier, not a minute later. She was wearing a purple sweatshirt and a pair of matching shorts, that revealed long toned legs. She looked at him square in the eye, ready to scold him for running out on her like that, but instead stopped when her gaze met his bare chest. He saw how she swallowed and forced a smile.

'Good morning.' Gabriel greeted with his most toothy grin.

'Yeah, good morning.' She made a circle with her head to loosen the knots in her neck and then pulled back her hair in a tight pony tail, ends still a bit damp from a shower, he guessed. Gabriel watched as his partner reached down to the hemline of her shirt and lifted it up, removing it only to reveal a matching sports bra and a toned flat stomach. He could never get enough of that view, he thought to himself as eyes travelled across her half naked figure, enjoying every bit of exposed skin.

'You got these in every color?' His throat went dry as he fumbled over his words. Her neck was now visible, her prominent collar bones and he couldn't help but notice she was wearing purple – cover Gabriel's favorite color. He'd have to ask her later if it was just a coincidence or an elaborate plan to drive him completely insane.

She chuckled. 'I guess you'll have to find out, won't you?'

Gabriel absolutely loved it when Riley was provoking him, words and movements making it hard for him to concentrate. He was promised a rematch and oh, he was going to get one, he felt it in his bones. Gabriel could see the spark in the brunette's jade eyes, he could feel her eagerness.

'Well, what are you waiting for then? Are we sparring or are we going to exchange beauty tips?'

Riley just smiled and came closer to him and without a warning swung a fist in the direction of his face. He dodged it with ease, only bending at the waist backwards, losing his balance for a fraction of a second. He snapped back into position and noticed how Riley had pulled away now, green eyes meeting his own, sending a challenge his way. They didn't need words to communicate with each other, just their eyes. And right now Riley was teasing him with her glowing gaze, examining his every muscle. He could swear he noticed a smile stretching across her face as he made a quick step to the left in an attempt to surprise her.

And so he did.

With one more step, this time to the right and forward he was right in front of her, stepping aggressively into her personal space. His fingers clenched her fists as she tried to swing another punch. He twisted her in the same manner he had the previous day, back pressed to his bare chest. Gabriel then pulled her arms in front of her chest, crossing them, so she had nowhere to run. He seriously hoped he wasn't causing her pain, but he didn't really had time to think now, did he? He pressed her hard against him as he felt her shift in his grip, desperately trying to escape.

He lowered his mouth next to Riley's earlobe and whispered. 'Are you ready to admit defeat. For the second time, Agent Neal?'

He heard her chuckle. 'Oh, I am not near to admitting anything yet, Vaughn!'

What followed Gabriel never saw coming.

Apparently he had lowered a bit too much, because Riley bent down abruptly, bringing his weight with her down on the ground. She then twisted her body in a way that Gabriel never fully processed and kicked him in the shin. He stumbled to the ground and fell on his back with a thump, his breath escaping his lips. Then he saw Riley's raven lock on top of his face and felt her on top of him. Her body was pinning his against the floor, her small finger locked around his wrist in such a manner that didn't allow him to move a lot underneath her. One knee next to his one side and one next to his other side, Gabriel had never felt so good before about being defeated. His body was pulsating with exhaustion, he could feel his muscles aching, but his heart wasn't pounding because he was tired.

No, his heart was racing out of his chest because the most beautiful girl he knew was straddling him, a content grin stretching her lips. Lost in the moment she bent down, as her hands pressed down on his when he tried to move again. Her lips grazed his cheek as she came closer to his ear.

'Are you ready to admit defeat, Agent Vaughn?' He felt her thighs shift and he was pressed even harder to the floor, not that he was eager to escape from underneath the beautiful agent. She lifted her head the slightest and in an instant his lips and hers were only a mere inch from one another. Her eyes lifted from his lips to his eyes and then back to his lips.

He felt her sigh, then bite that plump bottom lip of hers, and then the grip of her thighs and her hands loosened and eventually she let go, standing up and then reaching to help him get up too.

Gabriel saw the frustration and the confusion on her face, her cheeks were burning red and her green eyes had darkened reason unknown. All he knew was that he was this close to kissing her and in that moment he realized how much exactly Gabriel wanted to do it.

But she wasn't one to kiss the subject of her protection, he knew it. He also supposed that one of them was going to be sleeping on the couch this night. Trying to dissolve some of that pressure that was building up by the second he cleared his throat and let out a small laugh.

'Man, that last move. That kick! I stand corrected, _that, _that is most definitely your move, Agent Neal.'

The pretty brunette smoothed out a stray strand of raven locks and chuckled with him. 'Yeah, well, don't expect me to teach it to you. Secret Service only. Dibs on the bathroom!' She paced fast towards the exit, reminding him of their sparring match the previous day. Gabriel definitely needed to make her do that their regular morning exercise.

* * *

The pressure and awkwardness had disappeared quickly and now the two partners were walking down the corridor that was leading to their room. The minute they notice that the door was ajar, Riley pulled out her Sig from God knows where and Gabriel followed just a moment later. Riley went in first, as part of the whole protector-protectee agreement, steps silent and breath caught between teeth. She gestured him to stay outside but he followed her only a few steps behind her.

When he heard the hammer click and her relieved sigh he went in, bursting through the door.

'Just your wonderful friend, Nora.' Riley's brows knitted together at the sight of the blond, sitting in that same cream armchair as yesterday, legs crossed over one another, eye focused on the pair. She was wearing jeans this time and a silk shirt that was the same color as her cloudy bluish color. She looked more normal like this, not so cold and distant.

'How'd you come in?' Riley's fingers gripped her handgun so tight, her knuckles went white and even though Nora wasn't a threat, the weapon was still pointed in Skyler's direction. Gabriel went around Riley's still body and placed a hand on her forearm, a reassuring smile promising his partner that he'll handle it.

'I have a key.' Nora's brows wiggled for a second and he heard Riley's quiet growl. 'What were you doing anyways? I've been waiting here for an hour now?'

She turned her head in the direction of the unmade bed and a sly smile grew on her lips. Gabriel already knew what she was about to say – this new mean Nora was a lot more predictable. 'Seems like you two had a lot of fun last night, hm?'

Her eyes and her question were both pointing to Riley as her chest rose and fell in anger and frustration. 'I don't need to explain my every step to you, agent Skyler. What do you want?'

'Just wanted to give you a heads up. There has been a slight change of plans,' Nora said a sly smile on the blonde's face. Both agents immediately realized that whatever they were to do, it was going to be unpleasant either for both of them. Gabriel could never understand what it was that made Nora and Riley want to jump at each other's' throats, but he presumed it was similar to why he wanted to rearrange Charlie Griffin's face. 'You are going to have to fake a fight. Maybe shout tat each other for a bit, maybe shove her away' Nora turned to Riley. 'You might just get to slap him. If I were you I wouldn't miss an opportunity like that.'

'And why would I want to do something like that?' He noticed that despite lowered, Riley's gun was still in her hand.

'Because Anatoly just can't help himself with a damsel in distress anywhere around him. He feels almost obligated to intervene.'

Gabriel sensed where this was going and he definitely didn't like it.

'With _all means necessary_, you'll have to make him take you to his spare apartment. Bachelor pad if you will. I've never been there and he won't even tell me where it is, but I know that it is where he keeps his clients list and also his sources. You will have to retrieve it for us.' Nora then perked up and smiled again. 'You're going to be the heart of the mission, agent Neal. And while we are waiting for you to… make our subject comfortable, Gabriel and I will have to occupy each other's time, right, Gabriel?'

He never realized his hand had found its place at the small of Riley's back and he was now pulling her closer to him, aware of the things she had to do tonight.


End file.
